How can I parse an XML with multiple root elements using PHP?

Question

I am trying to read this XML file using PHP and I have two root elements. The code that I wrote in PHP reads only one root element and when I add the other one (<action>) it gives me an error. I want to do something like this : if($xml->action=="register") then print all parameters.

This is my XML file:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='ISO-8859-1'?>
<action>register</action>
<paramters>
    <name>Johnny B</name>
    <username>John</username>    
</paramters>

And this is my PHP script:

<?php
$xml = simplexml_load_file("test.xml");

echo $xml->getName() . "<br />";

foreach($xml->children() as $child)
{
    echo $child->getName() . ": " . $child . "<br />";
}
?>

I really don't know how to do all this...

Answer 1

Fix your XML, it's invalid. XML files can only have 1 root element.

Example valid XML:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='ISO-8859-1'?>
<action>
    <type>register</type>
    <name>Johnny B</name>
    <username>John</username>
</actions>

Or if you want only parameters to have own elements:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='ISO-8859-1'?>
<action type="register">
    <name>Johnny B</name>
    <username>John</username>
</actions>

or if you want multiple actions:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='ISO-8859-1'?>
<actions>
    <action type="register">
        <name>Johnny B</name>
        <username>John</username>
    </action>
</actions>

EDIT:

As I've said in my comment, your teacher should fix his XML. It is invalid. Also he should put his XML through a validator.

If you're really desperate you can introduce an articificial root element, but this is really bad practice and should be avoided at all costs:

$xmlstring = str_replace(
    array('<action>','</paramters>'),
    array('<root><action>', '</paramters></root>'),
    $xmlstring
);